Red
by Raevyn Lolliette
Summary: "Red..." the man grinned wickedly as he stared at my eyes, "What a divine color it is..." I blinked in confusionas I stared back at him. Any child in my position would. "I'm going to call you Akai, as the name matches those pretty red eyes of yours..."
1. Chapter 1

Red

"Red...What a divine color it is..."

The words that started it all. All I was and would come to be. All it took to make me into the thing I was, that separated me from all of the rest. But to understand the meaning of this, I must tell you the story behind it all; starting at the beginning.

In the middle of December, on the eighth day of the month is the day that my life began. My parents were extatic and the entire town gathered around to await my birth. They were important people you see. Queen Elizabeth of England was my mother's sister and my father was of kin to her closest Duke. So therefore you see, I was born into a family of wealth and power.

As a babe, I lived in London, England and was spoiled with expensive clothes and other fine things. Though spoiled child I was, I was never one to take advantage of those around me. I suppose one could say that I was polite. I had no trouble dining with the Queen, or as I called her my Auntie Elizabeth, nor did I have trouble with aquainting several of the duke's and duchesses' children. I would spend days in my dresses, entertaining the wealthy with my wit and charm and then retire to my bedroom that night to have stories read to me of princesses, dungeons, dragons, knights and sorcerers. I always dreamed that instead of a princess like my mother had wanted for me, I was far more intrigued with the warrior of the stories; he strong, pure-hearted person who fought for thier beliefs, even if they died for what they stood for. This, of course, like any mother, worried her, but she indulged me, telling me simply that one day, I would be a fine queen, and if not that, a strikingly charming young woman. Sadly...she never lived to find out...

You see, there was a side of myself that I had to hide from the public eyes. When I was born, I had hair the color of snow and eyes the color of blood. It wasn't normal for any human to have those features, in fact, the midwife that helped birth me, claimed that I was a demon, sent from hell to take the souls of the living. Thankfully a handful of money was enough to encase her large mouth. My parents always held parties that I attended in candlelight so that my hair seemed blonde, like my mother's and my eyes seemed brown, like my father's. It worked for a while, but even our money and my family's wealth and tactics couldn't stop the inevitable.

It was a cold winter's night in January that changed my happy life. The moon was full outside, and the streets of London were busy. My mother, my Father and I were out to attend an evening gala at my Uncle's house. Being my Father's brother, my family could not refuse. Though upon arrival, I soon came to find the party was exceedingly dull and I grew very tired of it and the hot air that existed inside. I decided that I needed some air away from the massive exuberant crowd. Only five, and innocent as any child should be at that age, I ventured outside to the chilly night air. The instant change was amazing. Cool relief flushed over my cheeks like that of water cooling hot metal. The snow fell softly in small flurries and the night scenery was incredibly enticing. So enthralled with the outside, I was, that I didn't notice the gruff group of men approaching me. By the time I noticed, it was too late. They grabbed my tiny body up and pressed me for money, that they knew my family had some. The recognized me. Panicked as a child would ever be, liquid saline streamed like waterfalls down my face and my child voice screamed for someone to help me. I struggled and kicked until I couldn't any more. They laughed, and taunted me and closed their hands around my throat; choking me until I was nearly unconsious. They said they would hold me for ransom and take all of my parents money before killing me. I didn't have trouble believing them. Their eyes were that of previous murders of dozens. I couldn't help the feeling of sudden anger that washed over my senses. It overwhelmed and pumped strength into my tiny limbs and I felt stronger than before. I ripped my nails down the man who was holding me against the wall by my throat's arm and he cried out in pain before dropping me to the snow covered ground. I coughed and pulled air to my lungs as quickly as my aveoli would let me, grateful for the needed oxygen. The man grumbled obsene words loudly as he turned around and slung the back of his hand across my cheek for daring to wound him. My cheek stung like that of a handful of bees and I pressed my mittened hand to it. Tears came to my eyes once again as I looked at him; angry and humiliated for him striking me across the face but mostly they were terrified of my imminent death. At that moment the entire town chose this moment to rush out and see what all of the fuss was about. I expected the man to run, but he seemed frozen and terrified as he looked into my face. The rest of his team looked the same, looking at me as if I were satan himself.

"D-D-D-D" he sputtered as his body shook. I was very confused. I was sure he was scared of the mass that had gathered to watch him and his crew of evil men torture a little girl, and I was also sure that someone would rush up to save me. To my surprise, nobody moved. It was as if the world itself had paused. I stood up, and the man jumped back as if he had been stung.

"D-D-D-D-De-" he continued to sputter before putting his hands to each side of his head and screaming the word _Demon_ as loud as he possibly could. I turned to the townspeople, expecting them to help me but they all just gasped and began to clone the actions that the man and his crew had performed. They were all wide eyed and had a look of terror in their eyes. It was then my mother and father ran out of the group, pausing hesitantly on sight of me, but then scooping me up in their arms murmuring words of comfort into my snowy locks.

"That is a demon child!" one lady screeched as she pointed her cane at me, "Her eyes are glowing red like the devil's!" I blinked in confusion. My eyes were-_glowing...? _

"The child is a witch!"

"She must be burned!"

"She is unholy!"

The crowd screamed out demands to my parents as they held me tightly; protecting me from the vile village peoples.

"Our child is NOT unholy! She is only strange! You know not of what you speak of!" my mother screamed in my defense; my father knelt next to us in silent protection. They continued their rants as my parents rushed me into our carriage and back home.

The next day, the people came to our house with pitch forks and torches, expecting my death, but my parents refused hatefully. I was their only child. I had to be protected.

Every day was the same for the next year. My parents could never leave the house, lest they be ambushed by the crowd waiting below. Guard were hired to help in our defense, but it was to no avail. Eventually we had to say our goodbyes to the city life and moved to a rual area of land, far back into the country. My mother and father took up the lives of the poor; farming and house jobs. My fancy dresses were sold and replaced by simple farm dresses and bonnets that would hide my snowy white hair from the world. It was a hard life, but we were all happy.

A mere month of living on the farm had taught me the secret nooks and crannies of the old barn and I went there to play often, even as my hardworking parents slept.

One night I awoke from a peaceful slumber to find that my favorite doll was missing from my bed. Childishly thinking that I couldn't sleep without it, I slipped quietly out of bed, tiptoed past my mother and father's room and down the moonlit trail to the barns to the west of the house, where I remembered leaving her.

I remember the night well, even to this day. The bangs and crunches of the woods around me, enticed me more than it should a child my age, and the night was quiet and peaceful. It settled around me like a comfortable blanket, and my eyes lit up in wonder as I watched the bats chase each other and the owls hunt the surrounding woods for prey.

The barn was so far from the house that I was tired easily from the walk up there with my little legs. So I sat for a while, and played with my dolls; enjoying the soft night air. Finally rested, I grabbed my doll and headed back for our house. I skipped and played on the way there, light as a bird's feather; enjoying life as a child should at my age.

When the house came into view, instead of the peaceful view I had expected, scorching orange and yellow light pierced my light-sensitive eyes. My house was aflame. I ran to it as quickly as I could, trying to reach my parents to see if they were harmed or not. It was then I made note of the amount of people around my house. Tears came to my eyes as I realized they were cheering. My parent's screams filtered my ears as I took off to them, such in a hurry, that I didn't see the large limb in my way. I tripped over it and hit my head on the rocky ground in front of me; my world, instantly black.

It had to have been mid-day of the next day when I awoke because the sun had risen to the middle of the sky. Upon rubbing my head, my memories rushed back to me. I convinced myself that it had just been a dream. That I had fell and fallen asleep out here, causing me to have a terrible nightmare. After a moment, I finally turned to see my house to make sure that I was dreaming and complete what my self-convincing had started. I found myself staring at the ashes of what used to be a beautiful two story barn house. Tears filtered my eyes. It hadn't been a dream after all...

I ran to the ashes to find only charred bits of jewelry and a bit of melted silverware in the aftermath of the large fire. Two freshly made mounds of dirt were marked:

_Here lies Artie, Abigail, and Emma Michael._

_Put to death for birthing and harboring a demon spawn._

The tears trailed down my face I lay ontop of their graves murmering their names over and over.

Mother...Father...

The would never hear my cries. They were gone to heaven, I had hoped. They were good people. They didn't deserve to burn in hell because of me.

After a while I began to walk, I didn't know where I was going...All I knew was that I had to keep moving and keep walking until my feet found where they were going...

**Author's Note:**

**I hope chapter one of Red wasn't too depressing. It probably was...but it's going to get better so please keep reading...I had to kill her parents somehow so that I could introduce Grelle...v.v**

**Anyways, please Read and review!**

**-Crimson**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Six Months later:

I lived in London as I once had; only, I lived on the street, warming my hands by the fires of the other people who were just like me. Some of them were even kind enough to share a bit of their food with me, since I hadn't the slightest luck of being able to find it myself.

Everyday was the same. I met a lot of generous, nice people, but then again, I met equally as bad ones. I had been beaten nearly to death many times, the most recent one, earlier this month, my food stolen when I finally found some, the burlap sack I found to sleep on stolen, and a stray cat that I had found killed in front of my eyes by the guy that had beaten me half to death when the it tried to come to my aid.

Then came the night when I reached my breaking point. I could feel my ribs through the dirty, tattered dress I wore and my body felt that it was curving inward after all of the beatings I had sustained. As if sensing my delicate state, two tall, rough-looking, turned the corner to the alleyway I usually slept in. The looks on their faces told me instantly that they just wanted to cause pain and trouble. I stepped back into the shadows praying that they wouldn't find me. That they would just walk past without seeing me. But of course, for me, there was no such luck.

"Ello li-uhl girl," the taller one with the wooden teeth breathed with a smirk. His breath smelled like rotten fish and alcohol. I pulled my face back, revolted. Upon my retreat the man looked at his friend with a smirk.

"Aww...the li-uhl girl, don't lie-keh me very much," he sneered. His friend stared straight at me and licked his lips. I shivered involuntarily as I tried to shove myself behind some sort of box.

"She looks mighty tasty, eh, brother?" the guy said, looking me up and down ravenously.

"Aw, naw, brother. She's much too li-uhl. She needs a bit of meat on 'er bones 'for I even think about touchin' tha'un." Somehow this didn't relax me, even the slightest.

"What do you two want with me anyways? I just want to sleep, sir. Like any other person. So if you would excuse me..." I moved to go lie down on the concrete when a sudden pressure on my throat caused me to slam into the wall I was just up against. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried not to cry out as the hand held me there by my throat.

I struggled and struggled, unable to breathe.

"Eh, eh! Not so fast. We weren't done wit' cha." the guy growled at me. For the moment, I forgot about his fish breath.

"Let me go!" I choked out with my last bit of breath. The world was getting fuzzy and suddenly it was hard to keep my head up. Just as I thought it was over with, that I was about to die, a rush of anger and desperation flooded over me and into every pore of my body. I was tired of being beaten and hungry. I was tired of shivering at night and trying to get warm. I was just absolutely sick and tired. I had never felt this amount of rage before. I guess the feeling would be what one would call "Mad as hell".

Without a word, I reached up, dug my nails into his hand, and jerked. It came off easily and the man let out a howl of pain as his arm bone popped in my hands. I slid down to the ground, not even out of breath now.

"You li-uhl bitch!" the man cried, holding his broken arm, "I'll make you pay!"

He grabbed for his big wooden stick with his good hand and faster than I could comprehend what I was doing, I had his stick and had smashed him across the head with it, sending crimson liquid into the air. But even seeing him unconscious in two strokes wasn't enough for me. I picked his limp body up by his neck with ease and swiftly pulled my hand back and shoved it into his chest, then pulled back; ripping his heart from his chest easily. Blood flew everywhere, splattering me from head to toe. I looked at his friend with a smirk that was too aged for a child of seven.

"Are you next, big man?" I asked lowly, my high pitch reduced to a low growl. His eyes were wide in terror and the growing wet spot on his thigh told me that he would not in fact be next. True to my thoughts, he took off running the other way without a word.

After the threat of being killed was gone, I turned my head back to the mush of human flesh in my hand and the dead man it belonged to. It was then, reality hit me. I had just killed this man with a few strokes and little or no effort at all. Suddenly my eyes widened with fear as the haze lifted. I had just _killed_ this man. I sunk down against the wall. It's no wonder the people wanted to kill me so bad, and why they killed my parents. I was a monster after all...

Tears rolled down my face as I faced the emotional consequences of my actions. I had only began to sob when suddenly I heard clapping noises from the corner of the alley way; opposite the dead man.

"Bravo, My Dear. Bravo" a calm voice called from beyond my vision as the clapping noises continued. My head jerked up to see a tall figure in the shadows. Earlier happenings temporarily pushed aside, I steadied myself into a defensive position.

"W-what do you want? Are you here to hurt me too?" I couldn't help but stutter as I looked into the tall shadow. The shadow laughed.

"Oh, no no, Dear Girl." he chuckled, and I noticed that while his voice was low and seductive, it was also very feminine as he continued to talk, "Actually quite the opposite..." I stared at the shadow in confusion.

"What?" I asked him and he laughed again.

"I saw you slay that man...You ripped his heart right out of his chest." he told me and my eyes filled with tears once more. My heart froze with the guilt and the strange sensation of having someone watching while I massacred the fat man. This man would kill me for sure, or at least turn me over to the police.

"I-I-I didn't mean to...I just...-I just..." I sniffed loudly as my face became wet again.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen from one so young!" He exclaimed. I blinked in surprise as I stared back at him.

"What?" I asked again.

"It was a good clean job. Though I'd prefer ripping one to shreds and splattering their blood all over the walls of the damp alleyway…" He told me, his shadowed body laughing merrily. My eyes widened in horror. This man must be insane! Deciding it was time to leave, I jumped to my feet as I wiped the blood from the man's heart on the wall.

"It was good to meet you, Sir, but I really must be on my way. I-"

"On your way where?" The shadow moved closer, interrupting me and cutting off my escape path, "According to the way you're dressed, you have no where to go…am I right?" My eyes welled up again with tears as I thought of the event that put me in this homeless state.

"I was right…" he took my silence as an acquiescence of his earlier statement.

"So what if you are?" I retorted angrily as tears made small saline tracks down my cheeks, "It doesn't change a thing. I'm not sleeping here with some dead guy, even if I did kill him!" I was going to turn around and run away when he appeared quickly in front of me.

"Wait Darling, I wasn't finished." He told me as I looked up. Now that he was in the light, I could see that he had long red hair down past his waist, yellow eyes, skull glasses and most prominently, pointed teeth. He wore a red coat over a white shirt with a black vest and a white and red pin striped necktie. To his sides, he had two pairs of scissors strapped to his hips.

"What...are you...?" I asked him dazedly and he smiled, flashing his pointed teeth at me as he did.

"Why forgive me for not introducing myself earlier..." he bowed gracefully, "I'm Grelle Sutcliffe, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire, at your service, milady..." He stood up and smiled at me again as I watched him.

"And I have been watching you for quite some time, little girl..." he paced about me with a smile that could possibly pass as demonic. But luckily after a few months on the streets, not a whole lot minus imminent death scared me.

"I'm Emma Michael." I told him cautiously. He paused suddenly and I froze too. My eyes...He must have noticed my eyes. Now he was going to kill me for sure...I squeezed my eyes shut and pulled my hood down over them to extend my life a mere few more minutes.

"Oh ho ho!" He exclaimed excitedly all of the sudden, "What beautiful red eyes you have there!" I flinched as I waited for him to kill me. I waited for a minute, but noting happened. I looked up slowly.

"What? Aren't you supposed to kill me now?" I asked, "Stop drawing it out and just do it already!" I yelled at him. To my amazement, he blinked in surprise.

"Kill you? Why would I kill you? We're the same you and me." He bent down until he was a few inches from my face before he winked at me with his golden eyes, "My eyes are yellow. So I'm weird too." The smile on his face was bright and cheerful and I was so overcome with relief that I smiled too. Suddenly a cold chill swept over me, causing goose bumps to form on my small pale arms. Grelle suddenly frowned.

"You don't like it out here, do you, little miss?" He asked me. I sniffled as I shook my head; all the while rubbing my eyes to remove the tears from earlier. Suddenly a tentative smile spread across his face.

"How opposed would you be, to coming to live with me? I've always wanted a daughter to call my own!" He swirled around happily, his golden eyes glittering with humor and adoration. I blinked in surprise.

"Why on earth would you want me? I am quite the freak…" I pulled my tattered hood over my eyes once more, suddenly self conscious. In two steps he was in front of me, holding my chin between his fingers and ripping my hood off as he stared me straight in the eyes.

"Red eyes," he looked into them, "Red is such a divine color."

"So, you would want me, just because my eyes are red?" I asked, feeling somewhat elated that somebody, even if it was another freak found _something_ beautiful out of my odd birth features.

"Well," he bit his lip thoughtfully, "I _do _adore the color red. But I see potential in you. You are obviously not fully human; by the way you slaughtered that slimy disgusting cannibal bastard." He gave the corpse a kick to the side of the head as he walked past it. I flinched at the word slaughtered, overcome by guilt once again. He looked up at me, his gaze sad.

"Do not feel remorse for this grimy filthy humanoid, young girl. It is a dog eat dog world. And if you had not have killed him, he would have killed you. And have probably boiled your little bones down and made stew of you."

I could not help the gasp of horror that came from my mouth. Grelle sighed wistfully.

"It is...a..._tragedy_ that things had to happen this way…." He sighed as he leaned down and stroked my hair affectionately, "But life is this way. Some days, you get it or it gets you…" Even though I knew he was right, I couldn't help the pang of uneasiness that washed over me when I thought about justifying my actions like that.

"I have a proposition for you..." he told me as he twirled my dirty hair around in his gloved fingers.

I looked up at him in confusion.

"A what?" he smiled gently at me.

"You see…Like I said earlier, I have been watching you, for some time young miss Emma. You are a tough little thing, surviving on your own, being beaten everyday since you found your way back to the streets of London, and watching your family be killed-"he paused to glance at me as I felt the most devastating of looks cross my face and ache in my chest. He turned away as if my look had pained him as well, "-and you couldn't help them, because you're so young. But you know they were killed because of you- no… because of your odd appearance. But, that really doesn't justify their deaths….does it?"

I shook my head as saline threatened to leak like waterfalls down my tattered face again.

"What if you could get them back? Give them a bit of a recollect on what they've done to you; how they've forced you to live…" He gestured around him, "I could teach you to do that; to control your half human, half shinigami powers."

My eyes widened in surprise. I was…half shinigami…?

"Yes, Dear you are half shinigami." He grinned as he spoke like if he had read my mind, "Couldn't you feel that purely spiritual part about you?" I thought of instances that I'd done abnormal things, like my eyes glowing red, breaking sturdy metal toys easily. He was right….I was different…

He nodded as if he noted that I had noticed my odd nature. "There then. I could train you to take your revenge on those vile _awful_ people, and all you have to do, is do as I say as my protégé. You will be my daughter, and my apprentice."

My mind whirled with the possibilities. Somebody wanted me. Somebody could possibly love me. Somebody could protect me. And those people…- I blinked back tears of anger as I remembered what those foul people did to my parents; my good, sweet, kind-hearted parents…

I could feel a set of determination in my heart. Those bloody bastards would pay!

My chin rose, as for the first time I stared up into the shinigami's golden eyes of my own accord. He smiled his jagged tooth smile down at me.

"I like that look dear. It fits you well." His smile widened enthusiasticly, "So come with me into my world." he held his hand out with a demonic grin. "Let me make you stronger and teach you to control your powers. With me comes everlasting life and eternal youth. Power and Fortune will come to you. All you have to do is go home with me."

Without hesitation, I found myself reaching out and grabbing his outstretched hand. His smile grew wider in delight, as he lead me from the alley way.

"Welcome to the new world, Young Miss."

**Author's Note:**

**Hey everyone! I am sooooo sorry it took me so long to post this. I hope that you guys aren't ready to barbeque me or anything yet Q_Q XD I know this was yet another depressing chapter, and I said it would get better, which it will! Juuust not yet :3**

**I've started on chapter three so I should have that up soon :3**

**As always if you have any suggestions on how you'd like the story to go or anything feel free to leave me a review or message me at **

**Soooo I guess that's all until chapter three :3 **

**Thankyou for reading!**

**-Crimson**


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